Nursing homes must establish a careplan for each resident that identifies the resident’s needs and how they will be met. If done properly, the careplan is a custom made strategy for how the staff will help the resident each day.

Under the law, residents and families are partners in the careplanning process. They have the right to give information, ask questions, participate in careplan meetings, offer suggestions, review careplan documents and accept or refuse offered care. When the resident, along with a family member, is involved in careplanning, it is almost certain that the resident will get better care, enjoy a better quality of life in the nursing home and maintain more independence.

Before the nursing home establishes the initial careplan, it first conducts an assessment. It must gather information on the resident’s health and physical condition, plus examine the resident’s routines, habits, activities and relationships. Assessments must be done within seven days of admission and are to be reviewed and updated at least quarterly.

Within seven days after the assessment is completed, the nursing home must create an initial careplan that addresses all of the resident’s needs and concerns. Residents and family members can and should participate in careplanning conferences, which are first held soon after admission and then at least every three months. Careplans must be updated when there is a significant change in a resident’s condition.

A resident always has the right to be fully informed in advance about care and treatment and of any changes in that care or treatment that may affect his or her well–being.

For more information, see CANHR’s fact sheet, Making Careplans Work. The above rights are found at 22 CCR §§72311 & 72527 and 42 CFR §483.10(d) & 483.20.